And don't kid yourself, there are plenty of kids that are overlooked every year simply overlooked because their school wasn't big enough, or they didn't look like an NBA player to management.

well Tennis then!
you can walk in off the street, pay $100, enter the US Open in the qualifying rounds and then proceed to beat everybody you play. All the way to the finals. You can not be "overlooked" - you just have to win.

I get so much joy and fufillment in everything I do. As cliche as it is, it's a type of happiness money can't buy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by joelpatterson

ignore everyone who tells you it can't be done, you need a reasonable fall-back plan, have a whole other career first and then do it.... internally, you know quite well what you want your life to be about. So... just do it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jex2000

go intern in a studio environment and see if you like it. Its a tough creative industry like any and to succeed you have to be well networked, lucky, work hard and really bloody good at what you do

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeq

You will have to make your own path.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drBill

Don't worry about "career's". Music is a lifestyle, not a career.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JrChery

IF money wasnt an object, what would you wake up and do? If you dont see yourself doing this for little or no money then take a step back and try to find another answer to number one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drBill

I think "breaks" come from personal relationships, not from internet promotion. Nothing beats friends in the right places.

Those are truths. Read them again!

Music is a gazillion dollar industry. Lots and lots of people make a living and there's no reason why you shouldn't try. The best thing you can do right now is to get experience working with people who are making a living.

You should start thinking about how you define 'success'. Do you think it means being rich and famous? Do you think it means waking up and looking forward to the next day's work?

I guarantee that music careers are different from what you might expect. You have no way of knowing until you get some real-world experience.

Think you want to produce? Find a way to spend time with a producer and get a sense for what their actual work and life are like. Maybe the weird schedule and financial uncertainty will suit you fine, or you might be miserable under that sort of pressure. You might discover that you love engineering but hate dealing with vocalists, or vice-versa. You will learn that even big name producers have to make projects with mediocre artists to pay the bills, and maybe you'd rather focus on your own music than work with mediocre artists. You may discover that you are not actually a 'great' songwriter, but you have a real talent for editing sound and picture. You might find it hard to consistently put out enough good music to keep you afloat, but maybe you will be great with logistics, budgets, networking, etc., and you'll become a great manger, agent, publicist, etc., etc. You will have a much better chance of success if you keep an open mind about your place in the industry.

-It will help if you are fun to be around and easy to work with.

-Be absolutely reliable. Don't promise things you can't deliver.

-You don't need to be the 'best' (in fact I would suggest not to think in those terms) but you need to be able to work consistently at a professional level. Find out what that means.

-Don't let yourself believe that you deserve anything and don't be jealous when your peers have success and jump up to the next level. Learn to be okay with rejection.

-Keep asking questions, always. Take the answers with a grain of salt, always.

well Tennis then!
you can walk in off the street, pay $100, enter the US Open in the qualifying rounds and then proceed to beat everybody you play. All the way to the finals. You can not be "overlooked" - you just have to win.

Actually I am a pretty fair tennis player and you can't do that. But I will agree that it is a little harder to hold you back in tennis.

You'd need to start playing local tournaments to get a ranking high enough to get into Sectional then National tourneys which you need to win enough of to get on the Satellites which you need to win enough of to get into the US Open qualifying.

And the truth of the matter, you probably can't get that good on your own. The right people need to look at you and decide that you have potential. Without that it's pretty much an uphill battle. You need to practice against the best and if they won't practice with you, you can't from here to there.